Once the King's meeting had finally let out, Zayn returned quietly to his chambers. He closed the door behind him, then smiled coldly. His plan had finally been set into motion. From this point, he would have to play an active role to make sure everything went smoothly. Naturally, however, he would have to stay out of the spotlight, since he didn't want to tip off either the Blades or the Grimleal to what he was up to. He began running calculations in his head: the ambush was to take place in two days, so if he were to take a Quickboat (boats powered by magic to move much faster than regular boats) to Ylisse within the hour, he would probably arrive just before the ambush occurred. Once there, he could-

A distinctive flapping sound pulled him back into reality as Ragmi, the messenger hawk, landed on his window sill. He opened the window to allow the hawk entry. Sure enough, there was a note attached to his leg. Zayn opened the note and began reading. It was a basic status report: Vass had not been discovered, and the Blades were heading to Ylisstol. [i]Good, then all is going as planned,[/i] he thought. He took a new sheet of paper and wrote a quick reply, offering Ragmi a small rat as he did so, which the hawk gladly gobbled up.

[i]Continue to act as normal. Draw no suspicion to yourself. Report again in three days.[/i]

Since Zayn was the only one who handled communications with Vass, he didn't bother signing it. Vass would know who had sent the message. He tied the message to the hawk's legs and ordered it back to its master. The hawk cried a vicious cry as it took wing back to Ylisse. "Good. That's one thing taken care of," he said, mostly speaking to himself. Once the hawk was out of sight, he closed the window again. This time, however, he closed the curtains as well. He opened his wardrobe and removed the false bottom, revealing a tattered brown cloak, a tan-colored head wrap, and a pair of travelling boots. They were commoner's clothing, made all over the world and sold in almost every shop that handled them. He would blend right in. Removing the items, he placed them on his bed and returned the false bottom to the wardrobe. Anyone else in Grimleal likely wouldn't be caught dead wearing such tragic clothing, but to Zayn, these clothes might as well have made him invisible; more than worth the ragged appearance and derisive sneers he received while wearing them. Before putting them on, however, he opened his door and stuck his head out.

"Guard."

The armored man turned and saluted him quickly. "Yessir?"

"Send Liam to my room, and tell him to pack for travels. I will be departing briefly, and I would have him accompany me." Liam was young and naive, making him very easy to manipulate, but he was also a healer, making him [b]very[/b] useful to have around.

"Sir." The guard saluted again and rushed off to find Liam. Zayn shut his door again and sat down. Truthfully, he would have liked to take someone else along as well, in case something went wrong. However, of the very limited people who had earned his attention, no one else would be a wise choice. Ruby was a skilled swordswoman, but if her sister was with the Sacred Blades, she would be recognized immediately. Verin- well, in Zayn's eyes, Verin was next to worthless, and he would remain that way until he could prove otherwise. Alice the Pegasus Knight would have made for good aerial support, but Zayn placed no trust in her being able to restrain her killing urges long enough for him to accomplish his objectives. In the end, Liam was the only person he knew of that could support him while posing the least amount of risk to his mission. Still, he had considered each of these individuals before, and if they continued to prove themselves (in Verin's case, if he could prove himself at all), Zayn would definitely make use of their skills. For now, he only had to wait. He was leaving in forty-five minutes, with or without the young cleric.